Here’s What’s Happening (in order of appearance):

Pick of the Week / Ash Wednesday Candlelight Vigil / ICE Out of Hudson River Park / Community Board Applications Accepted Throughj Feb. 27 / Ceres Gallery Exhibitions / 

PICK OF THE WEEK (next week, that is…)

Coffee & Conversations: Friday, February 27, 8:30am to 9:30am at Chelsea Green Park ( 140 W. 20th St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) | Out of bed, on the web, and stunned by the headlines…has the world gone mad? Keep doom at bay by going offline and parking yourself in the real world. That’s the appeal of Coffee & Conversations, a morning gathering that encourages–if not meaningful, then certainly civil–dialogue. Presented by Friends of Chelsea Green, Coffee & Conversations returns for a new season on February 27.  As usual, coffee and pastries are generously provided by The Commons Chelsea. See? Some things haven’t changed! For more info on Chelsea Green Park activities (including their annual fundraising auction), click here.

Ash Wednesday Candlelight Vigil: Wednesday, February 18, 7pm at St. Peter’s Chelsea (346 W. 20th St. btw. 8th & 9th Aves.) | This 20-minute vigil, held in the courtyard of event presenter St. Peter’s Chelsea, is a public expression of “solidarity with our immigrant and refugee neighbors” at which Church members will “read aloud the names of victims of ICE violence.” Chelsea Neighbors United–the indefatigable community vigilance squad we first wrote about here–has accepted the open invite to this event, and will be there to stand in solidarity with St. Peter’s and the vulnerable locals at risk of being taken off the streets and tossed into custody. Hey, ICE: How about giving yourself up for Lent?? To visit the St. Peter’s Chelsea website–where you can watch a recent sermon, preview the next Sunday service, learn about their food pantry, and sign up for their newsletter–click here.

ICE Out of Hudson River Park: Saturday, February 21, 12pm at Chelsea Piers (22nd St. entrance, under the big blue Chelsea Piers sign) | Chelsea Neighbors United (CNU)—the recently formed group adept at protesting the presence of ICE and its enablers–have their eyes set on seeing the figurative Welcome Mat pulled from its placement at Pier 40. That’s where ICE vehicles have been parking, thanks to the longstanding contract Immigration and Customs Enforcement has with the 10-times-a-day, donation-begging email senders at Hudson River Park Trust (HRPT). Pressure thus far has proven effective: HRPT agreed not to renew the contract past its June 2026 expiration. But CNU says the time to go is now. “We are going to Chelsea Piers to demand action,” notes the group, of their Feb. 21 plans. For more info, send an email to  ChelseaNeighborsUnited2@gmail.com.

Manhattan Community Board Applications Accepted Through February 27

Newly installed Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal (MBP) has already embarked upon one of his marquee responsibilities: Appointing new members to Manhattan community boards. “I served on my local community board for over a decade and deeply appreciate the importance they serve to the local planning process, budget priorities, and city services. I hope you’ll consider serving, too,” said the MBP in a January 21 email to constituents. In order to be considered for appointment, a complete application must be submitted online or postmarked by no later than 5pm on Friday, February 27, 2026. Click here to access the application.

Ceres Gallery Presents: Polaroid Revisions, an exhibition of enlarged Polaroid photographs by Liz DeMayo and Welcome to Minako’s World, an exhibition of colorful lithographs by Minako Ito / Both Exhibitions on View Tuesday Through Saturday, 12pm to 6pm Through February 28 at Ceres Gallery (547 West 27th St. Suite 201; btw. 10th/11th Aves.) | Liz DeMayo’s enlarged Polaroid photographs of trees, plants, and aquatic scenes began as small images taken with a Polaroid, or transferred onto Polaroid film from a phone camera. Polaroid Revisions, the curators tell us, “includes three groupings of photographs enlarged onto paper, and two sets of canvases with the images enlarged to 30 inches.”

Welcome to Minako’s World includes 21 lithographs and one monotype whose NYC- and Tokyo-based “private rooms and urban places” rarely depict a human figure–”yet the human touch is evident everywhere.”

—-Listings compiled by Scott Stiffler

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